The producers of HBO's 'Six Feet Under' were on to something.

Meredith Local Media, based in Des Moines, will start to syndicate a local televised paid obituary service after introducing it at WNEM-TV in Flint-Saginaw Bay City, Mich., according to a TVNewsCheck.com report.

The concept was first introduced, in a way, during the run of 'Six Feet Under.' The Emmy-nominated HBO show, which ran from 2001-05, would post obits of recently departed characters on the channel's Web site. In Michigan, a CBS affiliate scrolls the obits while soft music plays in the background at the end of weekday newscasts.

"Our service is more efficient and more cost effective than running obituaries in newspapers,'' said Paul Karpowicz, president of Meredith's Local Media Group in the report. "For stations, it will contribute to the bottom line. It is a nice addition to finances and it will grow. In markets like Flint and elsewhere, every little bit helps.''

So far, the service is rolling out to 11 Meredith stations, along with 20 non-Meredith stations and more on the way.
Newspapers started to run paid obituaries about 10 years ago.